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WATCH FOR ICE: There are many ice covered secondary roads over East Alabama this morning; especially in counties like Cherokee, Etowah, Blount, St. Clair, Calhoun, Cleburne, Clay, Talladega, and Randolph. Let’s be careful out there; we heard of dozens of accidents in this region last night. Sublimation will help the situation during the day today despite the sub-freezing cold.
BIG TIME COLD: The Arctic blast is here for sure. Most places are hovering in the 12 to 17 degree range this morning, and unfortunately we will have to deal with mornings this cold, or colder, tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. Welcome to the sunny warm south. Today will be uncomfortable to say the least. Highs in the 20s along with wind chill values in the 0 to 10 degree range.
Tomorrow won’t be much different. We begin the day in the 10 to 15 degree range, and it is unlikely we reach 30. Wind chills remain in the single digits. And, a strong vorticity maximum rotating down the back side of the upper trough over the eastern third of the nation could squeeze out a few snow flurries.
SUNDAY/MONDAY: Both of these mornings will feature those 10 to 15 degree lows, with single digits likely for the colder pockets across the northern half of the state. But, at least afternoons will show a warming trend with a high in the mid 30s Sunday, and low 40s Monday.
We should note that most folks around here will be below freezing for at least consecutive 70 hours, and some colder places for possibly consecutive 100 hours.
FROZEN PONDS: Many of the ponds across Alabama will be totally frozen at the surface this weekend. Kids, even the grown ones, will be very tempted to take a walk on water, or do a little ice skating. My advice: DON’T. That ice will be razor thin in many cases, and there is a very real danger you do into icy water that could take your life. You might give your kids that strong advice if they plan on being outdoors in coming days.
NEXT WEEK: The GFS is very consistent and brings in the next major storm system one week from today with a classic storm along the Gulf Coast. Thickness values indicate it will be an all rain event for Alabama, and possibly one featuring heavy rain. The rain ends late Friday night/early Saturday morning (January 15-16), followed by colder air, but nothing like the Arctic blast we are dealing with now.
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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day…
